GRENADA GRAND BEACH RESORT

As usual, the libeling that has taken place is probably motivated by the unwavering obsession some people have with the NNP Political Leader, Dr. the Honourable Keith Mitchell, who has been libeled so many times, it’s impossible to keep track anymore. However, the men who have been crying wolf all these years are about to discover that their lies have stepped way out of the bounds of their league.

Lloyd Noel has written an article that has been published on the internet and in the ‘Grenada Today’ that accuses Formula 1 Racing Superstar, Lewis Hamilton of bribing government officials to obtain ownership of the Grenada Grand Beach Resort property.  Mr. Noel has also accused the Prime Minister and the Governor General of collusion and signing a fraudulent document in relation to the sale of the land.  In fact, the accusations and lies are so widespread, the libeling of Ambassador Patrick Antoine in this - almost seems like a side-dish.

The Editorial in the Grenada Today, titled, ‘The Great Sell-Out’ repeats these false accusation, while claiming that these sentiments are shared by the government of Grenada. There is yet another nasty article on the front page of Grenada today, echoing the same thing, with a horrifically defaming headline, complete with photo’s of the former Prime Minister, Lewis Hamilton and the Governor General.

If the publisher of the Grenada Today newspaper thought that running these stories would help him on his quest to ‘hunt’ Dr. Mitchell until he ‘gets him’ he is in for a nasty surprise, because this time, he has gone so far beyond the law, with the biggest fish imaginable in a much bigger pond that he is used to – publisher George Worme may soon discover that the newspaper issued on Friday October 3rd, 2008 was the issue that will seal the coffin on this libelous rag and close it forever.

Here’s why:

Lewis Hamilton is, arguably, the world’s most famous race car driver, and although some Grenadians may not be aware of what a multi-billion dollar industry Formula 1 Racing is overseas, they will have evaluated the size of this industry by considering that the five year contract Lewis Hamilton has with Formula 1 Racing Sponsor, McLaren Group is worth over one trillion EC dollars. The value of that contract ought to speak for itself.

McLaren owns Lewis Hamilton’s commercial rights, so when Hamilton is libeled, McLaren is libeled too: Especially when the stories being told are claiming that Hamilton’s image isn’t worth as much as the land the Grenada Grand Beach Resort sits on. It has been said that the Ministry of Finance have not yet been able to fix a value for Mr. Hamilton’s endorsement. That’s probably because there aren’t enough zero’s on their calculators to cover it.

What will the government, Lloyd Noel, George Worme and others responsible for publishing these libelous claims do when they discover that the image they have tarnished is worth trillions of dollars?

The fact that the previous government actually got a hundred times more value out of the land the Grenada Grand Beach Resort sits on through an endorsement agreement with Hamilton, should have been obvious to those responsible for these reckless claims. Even more troubling is that the government of Grenada has been described by one of their own activists as ‘hopping mad’ instead of ‘overjoyed’ that the previous government left them an endorsement that can only be described as a goldmine for Grenada.

The Honourable Dr. Mitchell pointed out to the government during the second sitting of Parliament under NDC rule:  That it would take ten years of marketing and hundreds of millions of dollars to do what Lewis Hamilton can do by promoting Grenada for one year.
 
How could these people not have seen the value of an endorsement for Grenada by a worldwide superstar? Haven’t they seen stars in commercials before? What do they think a star gets paid for doing a commercial for Coca-Cola? A free case of pop? Come on now, it’s time to wake up and hope that saying sorry will be enough to right these wrongs.